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Stubble Guard Implement Tire To Fight Stalk Damage

Titan Tire is re-launching one of its 1000-15 implement tires as a Stubble Guard, aimed at fighting off damage in no- and low-till fields where corn stalks are proving fatal to many traditional tires.

The Stubble Guard is offered in the 1000 - 15 size because of the popularity of that rim for implement and transport wheels, and is based on an older tire design, but features eight nylon plies where the older tire had four, and an additional four layers of cut-resistant aramid material.

The Stubble Guard tire, right, has four aramid (Kevlar) belts along with eight nylon plies, compared with the four-ply nylon tire on the left.

Skip Sagar, area sales representative for Titan in Iowa, says the innovation came when a customer noted he had experienced six flats on his planter in about 2,000 acres of operation, all due to stalk damage. Once the newly upgraded design was put on the customer's planter, a similar number of acres was put on the machine in similar conditions with no flats.

Titan product engineer Scott Sloan says tires can't be a producer's only defense against stalk damage, but notes the Stubble Guard line addresses the problem from the tire standpoint. "You really need to work with equipment modifications," he says, "things like 'stalk stompers' make a big difference, and some growers are even running a roller on stubble as the last operation of the season to lay down the sharp points of corn stalks."

He also suggests changing tillage angles, driving between the rows and adjusting harvester heads to leave taller stalks.

Currently there are only a limited number of Stubble Guard tires available, but Sloan and Sager both agree Titan is ready to ramp up production to meet demand.